Apple Cranberry Cheese Blintzes

For autumn Jewish holidays like Sukkot and Simchat Torah, a festive and seasonal meal of traditional cheese blintzes smothered in sautéed apples and dried cranberries.

This week marks the end of the Jewish harvest festival of Sukkot and also the holiday of Simchat Torah, a celebration of ending one and beginning another annual cycle of readings from the Torah. Unlike some other Jewish holidays, Simchat Torah does not have many traditional foods associated with it. I suspect this is because Simchat Torah is mostly celebrated at the synagogue with reading from the Torah and even dancing with the scrolls.

One traditional food that is somewhat associated with Simchat Torah is the blintz. One rather poetic explanation for this tradition is that two blintzes laid side-by-side resemble Torah scrolls. If you are not familiar with blintzes, they are a traditional Jewish dairy treat of thin pancakes — almost like crêpes — filled with soft, fresh cheese and rolled up like a little package. Once assembled, blintzes are usually fried in a little butter and topped with jam or sour cream and maybe a dusting of powdered sugar and some fresh fruit.

Because it is fall, and my family went apple-picking this week, I decided to top these Simchat Torah blintzes with seasonal fruits like sautéed apples and dried cranberries. The combination of the sweet cheese-filled crepes and the tart sautéed apples is so delicious, you definitely do not have to be Jewish to appreciate them! Indeed, whatever your background, cheese blintzes are a wonderful make-ahead dish for brunch guests. Or serve them as breakfast-for-dinner and your family will go nuts.

Breakfast-for-dinner is a concept that transcends religion.

A few recipe notes about blintzes. One: plan ahead. The batter for the pancakes needs to sit for at least two hours before cooking. My advice? Make the batter the morning before you plan to serve the blintzes, if you are serving them for dinner. If serving blintzes for breakfast or brunch, make the batter the night before.

Second, remember when I said that the pancakes for the blintzes are like crêpes? That’s true, but there is one key difference. Traditionally, crêpes are cooked on both sides while the blintzes are only cooked on one side. Got it?

I suggest you fill your blintzes with lightly sweetened ricotta cheese thickened with a little cream cheese. Traditionally, Jewish cooks like my great-grandmother, who was famous for her cheese blintzes, would have used something like pot cheese or farmer’s cheese, which is a soft, fresh cheese, similar to cottage cheese, with small curds. Farmer’s cheese can be pretty tangy, which some people love. My kids, I have learned, prefer the mild taste of fresh ricotta.

I encourage you to experiment with farmer’s cheese, or quark, which is a German fresh cheese, or even small-curd cottage cheese, to fill your blintzes if you are dealing with more sophisticated palates. In my new book The Joys of Jewish Preserving, I actually offer two filling recipes for blintzes, one with ricotta and another with farmer’s cheese for the purists.

For those celebrating Sukkot and Simchat Torah this week, chag sameach! For those who are just celebrating that it is fall, and apple season, I hope you will give these apple cranberry blitzes a try. Remember, everyone loves breakfast-for-dinner!

To make the batter, whisk together the milk, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl. Add the flour, sugar, and salt and whisk until combined and no longer lumpy. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. (Stir to recombine before cooking.)

To make the crepes, heat a non-stick crepe pan over high heat. While the pan is heating, prepare 8 squares of parchment paper to hold the cooked crepes.

Once the pan is hot, reduce the heat to medium-high. Add 1⁄3 cup of batter and immediately tilt the pan to swirl the batter to the edges. It should thinly coat the bottom of the pan.

Cook undisturbed for 40 seconds to 1 minute until the edges are lightly browned and release easily from the pan and the center is dry.

Using your fingers or a thin, flexible spatula, loosen an edge and carefully remove the crepe to the dishtowel or parchment paper. (Do not use tongs, which may puncture or tear the delicate crepe.) If the bottoms of the crepes are browning before the center is dry, flip them over and briefly cook the underside and then add slightly less batter to the pan next time. You may need to adjust the heat between medium-high and medium, as you continue to cook the crepes to ensure that they are browning but not burning on the bottom and cooking all the way through.

Repeat with the remaining batter. Layer the finished crepes between parchment paper. (Crepes may be prepared up to a day ahead and refrigerated.)

To make the filling, mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl.

To fill the blintzes, place one crepe, cooked side down, on a clean dishtowel or board and spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons of filling just below the center of the crepe, leaving a border on the bottom and each side. Fold the bottom layer over the filling, then fold in each side, enclosing the filling completely, and roll up. Place the filled blintzes seam-side down in a baking dish. (These can be refrigerated at this point for up to 1 day or frozen for longer storage.)

For the sautéed apples, melt the butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat.

Saute the apples, stirring occasionally, until they are softened, about five minutes.

Sprinkle them with the sugar and cinnamon, add the dried cranberries, and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the apples are tender and the cranberries puffed and softened.

Stir in the lemon juice and keep the mixture warm.

To cook the blintzes, melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a 12-inch nonstick skillet. Place 4 blintzes in the skillet and cook over medium heat until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Flip and brown the other side. Repeat with the remaining blintzes, adding more butter to the skillet as necessary.